Beginner's Questions: Nikon vs. Sony Digital SLR Equally Good? Best First Lens?

[TheJudge]

Just so you know-- those are Minolta Lenses. Sony has only put their name on Minolta's old stock. Sony did come out with some of their lenses-- cheap cheap cheap!!! They needed something on the market or they loose big time market share. Sony assured me that they are making Zeiss lens systems in the near future...but the ones out are of good quality . The main reason Minolta lenses are so expensive, they make 100% their own products.....from the glass to the metal tubes........that costs some money.

I did not like the answers I was getting from Sony-- that took half a day to talk to an engineer. Minolta seemed bitter about the whole thing, and the available products on the market now-- are limited compared to your big players. All this adds up to an uncertain future. This is why I switched.


Judge


p.s. Interesting story: Minolta used to be one of the largest brand names in cameras. They stole a patent from Honeywell and changed it up alittle and BAM! The first auto-focusing camera. In fact at their product introduction, they still had problems with the AF, so all the reps wore referee shirts so the cameras could zero in on the contrasting stripes. Since then, Minolta has been in a constant, long, and costly lawsuit with Honeywell.......thus their decline in the camera market. This told to me by one of the old Minolta reps, who now works for Olympus. Take it for what it's worth, but it is amazing what can happen backstage with a company.

 

[JIP]

Yes, much better to be trapped in Nikon's.

Sorry, but every manufacturer wants you to use their own lenses and accessories. And every system also offers third-party options. With Nikon you can choose from Nikon, Tamron, Sigma, Tokina, etc. With Sony you can choose from Sony, Minolta, Tamron, Sigma, Tokina etc. Both systems are restrictive, but neither "trap" you. So unless Nikon have recently made their dSLRs work with every photographic lens and accessory ever made by anyone, I don't really see your point here.

Yeah you are right you are better off going with Sony since they just got into making Dslrs it means theirs will be better. Or better yet why not go with Olympus I'm sure they wont stop making Dslr's like they did with film SLR's when this trend is over and I'm sure if they do all your stuff will be compatible with any new system. You can't trust Nikon or Canon for that matter they have been into this (SLR's and DSLR's) too long you need to try something new.

 

[Alex_B]

JIP .. don't be that sarcastic ;-)

 

[JIP]

Sorry I just get a little frustrated somtimes with these discussions. I PERSONALLY think the best way to go is Nikon or Canon and I guess that is nothing but opinion BUT I base it on what I sort of joked about and that is those companies have been in the SLR business for many years not just when it is a convienient time to make alot of money Nikon has carried the same lens mount for almost all of that time and that should count for something.

 

[table1349]

Sorry I just get a little frustrated somtimes with these discussions. I PERSONALLY think the best way to go is Nikon or Canon and I guess that is nothing but opinion BUT I base it on what I sort of joked about and that is those companies have been in the SLR business for many years not just when it is a convienient time to make alot of money Nikon has carried the same lens mount for almost all of that time and that should count for something.

I have to agree with getting frustrated with this type of discussion. Most seem to be a person who wants others to make their decision for them. Most of the time, the poster has done no research, sees some ad or talked to someone for 2 minutes.

Then alot of people chime in with get my camera because it is the best thing since sliced bread and all the others suck. Also too many people get caught up on ONE feature and forget everything else about the system they are pitching.

I either own or use all of the systems mentioned, with the exception of Sony. My DSLR system is Canon. My 35 film system is Nikon and my medium format is Pentax. All great stuff. At work we use Fuji and Nikon DSLRs. We switched from Minolta film systems as their Digital was not a good choice for forensic work so we went to Nikon/Fuji.

I guess the real frustration for me is the knowledge that people buy into some of these biased recomendations, buy a camera and a couple of lenses and then find that they do not like it and it does not fulfill their needs. We have just lost another potential photographer when that happens.

That is why my suggestion to this particular general question is check out the cameras you are interested in and compare the features, then go to a photography shop, handle the cameras and shoot some pictures with each system. Then decide on what works best for them.

The questions in this line that don't bother me are the ones where someone has done their homework, narrowed it down to a couple of systems for stated reasons and are asking for specific info about the systems that they are looking at. What amazes me is that there are still those that that feel they have to pitch their better than sliced bread system, even if it is not one of the chosen ones.

 

[Don Simon]

Yeah you are right you are better off going with Sony since they just got into making Dslrs it means theirs will be better. Or better yet why not go with Olympus I'm sure they wont stop making Dslr's like they did with film SLR's when this trend is over and I'm sure if they do all your stuff will be compatible with any new system. You can't trust Nikon or Canon for that matter they have been into this (SLR's and DSLR's) too long you need to try something new.

I'm not going to be sarcastic any more... you are truly a worthy opponent in the field of sarcasm. If you and I went further down that road we'd reach some kind of critical sarcasm mass and the internet would melt.

Seriously now, where did I say the OP would be better off going with Sony? That's right, I didn't. I didn't even imply it. Check my first response to the OP; I basically told him to make up his own mind. God forbid we should let anyone do that (oops I said I wouldn't be sarcastic). And what's your point about Olympus? They stopped making film SLRs? Who hasn't? Nikon still produces what, the F6 and a rebranded Cosina? And when did I say or even imply that you can't trust Nikon or Canon? Again, I didn't. I just don't think they're inherently better systems as you seem to. But apparently it's not ok to question the perceived wisdom. It's perfectly ok to continually tell people to buy one of two systems and suggest they won't be happy with anything else, but if someone so much as points out that other systems exist it's considered shameless promotion, self-justification or an attack on Canon and Nikon. It just looks a lot like double standards to me.

Sorry I just get a little frustrated somtimes with these discussions. I PERSONALLY think the best way to go is Nikon or Canon and I guess that is nothing but opinion BUT I base it on what I sort of joked about and that is those companies have been in the SLR business for many years not just when it is a convienient time to make alot of money Nikon has carried the same lens mount for almost all of that time and that should count for something.

Right, apparently you should definitely buy Canon or Nikon because they've been in optics and photography for decades, but apparently that's not a factor with Pentax or Olympus who have also been doing it for ages. Sony is the only company this argument can sensibly be applied to, and even then it's debatable because the system and the expertise is inherited from Minolta, plus Sony is well established in digital photography, maybe that should count for something too? Or not, because we can decide what's important or not when it helps our argument.

Someone in this thread made a specific criticism of Sony's lens line-up. With actual facts and numbers! I think if we have to advise people what to buy, how about we stick to that kind of specific advice and criticism, which is much more useful for beginners, rather than having an endless and pointless debate about whether one brand or another is inherently better?

 

[JIP]

I have to agree with getting frustrated with this type of discussion. Most seem to be a person who wants others to make their decision for them. Most of the time, the poster has done no research, sees some ad or talked to someone for 2 minutes.

Then alot of people chime in with get my camera because it is the best thing since sliced bread and all the others suck. Also too many people get caught up on ONE feature and forget everything else about the system they are pitching.

I either own or use all of the systems mentioned, with the exception of Sony. My DSLR system is Canon. My 35 film system is Nikon and my medium format is Pentax. All great stuff. At work we use Fuji and Sony DSLRs. We stitched from Minolta film systems as their Digital was not a good choice for forensic work so we went to Nikon/Fuji.

I guess the real frustration for me is the knowledge that people buy into some of these biased recomendations, buy a camera and a couple of lenses and then find that they do not like it and it does not fulfill their needs. We have just lost another potential photographer when that happens.

That is why my suggestion to this particular general question is check out the cameras you are interested in and compare the features, then go to a photography shop, handle the cameras and shoot some pictures with each system. Then decide on what works best for them.

The questions in this line that don't bother me are the ones where someone has done their homework, narrowed it down to a couple of systems for stated reasons and are asking for specific info about the systems that they are looking at. What amazes me is that there are still those that that feel they have to pitch their better than sliced bread system, even if it is not one of the chosen ones.

I agree with this guy so forget everything I said